Ironing board with built-in midget board



June 2, 1959 c. H. VENNEN 2,888,759

IRONING BOARD WITH BUILT-IN MIDGET BOARD Filed March 2, 1956 INVENTOR. CHARLES h VEMVEN yre/3M ATTORNEY United States Patent IRONING BOARD WITH BUILT-1N MIDGET BOARD Charles H. Vennen, Eau Claire, Wis.

Application March 2, 1956, Serial No. 569,023

1 Claim. (Cl. 38-135) This invention relates to improvements in ironing boards and the principal object is to provide an ironing board having a built-in midget board, which will permit ironing of various items which would ordinarily be difficult to iron on the large board surface.

Another object of the invention is to provide an ironing board provided with a built-in midget board, which can be conveniently raised to work receiving position and which can be just as easily released to settle into a position forming part of the surface of the larger board.

Still another object is to provide an ironing board having a built-in midget board, with supporting means of positive acting and durable construction.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent to the reader of the following description.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing an ironing board with its midget board raised.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the midget board lowered to flush position with the large board.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary enlarged longitudinal sectional view through the midget board and a portion of the main board and showing, by broken lines, the midget board raised.

Figure 4 is a section taken on line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Referring to the drawings wherein like numerals designate like parts, it can be seen that numeral denotes a conventional ironing board having a top 11 and supporting legs 12, 13. The conventional top 11 has a tapered end portion 14 and within this end portion 14 is formed an opening 15, preferably of the same general shape of the top 11, but on a much reduced scale. This opening 15 is to accommodate a midget board 16 which is of the general shape of the top 11 but on a much smaller scale and capable of readily fitting within the opening 15. Depending from the broad end of the midget board 16 is a post 17 which is vertically slideable in a barrel 18. This barrel 18 is welded or otherwise secured to a sleeve 19 from which a pair of arms 20 incline in diverged relation and are welded or otherwise secured to a plate 21, this plate 21 being formed with openings to receive screws or other fastening elements 22, whereby the plate 21 is secured to the underside of the ironing board top 11, as clearly shown in Figure 3. Thus the barrel is supported in a vertical position, to the end that the midget board 16 can be raised or lowered with respect to the top 11.

The post 17 has an arm 23 projecting laterally therethrough and through a longitudinal slot 24 in the barrel 18. When this arm 23, which may have a knurled head or handle 25 is resting on the barrel 18 at the lower end of the slot 24, the midget board 16 is in the lowered position and within the opening 15, with the top surface flush with the top surface of the ironing board top 11.

On the upper portion of the barrel 18 is a collar 26 carrying a latch. This latch is in the form of an arm 27 having a bevelled foot 28 and a lift finger 29. The foot 28 is normally held over the slot 24 by a tension spring 30.

The collar 26 preferably has a shoulder 31 against which the finger 29 can engage to limit upward movement of the same, the finger 29 having an ofi-set 32 which engages this shoulder 31 and which can also engage the barrel 18 to limit positioning of the foot 28 over the slot 24.

It can now be seen, that when it is desired to use the midget board 16, a person need only move the post 17 upwardly by the handle 25. The arm will ride against the bevelled foot 28, displacing the same momentarily until the arm 23 strikes the barrel 18 at the upper end of the slot 24, at which positioning of the arm 23, the catch will engage under the same and thus hold the midget board 16 in elevated position. The board 16 can now be used independently of the top 11, but when it is desired to again use the top 11, all that is necessary is to lift up on the finger 29 and this will release the post 17 so that it will descend in the barrel 18, thus lowering the midget board 16 to the position shown in Figure 3, with its top surface, flush with the top surface of the ironing board top 11.

While the foregoing description sets forth the invention in specific terms, it is to be understood that numerous changes in the shape, size and materials may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed hereinafter.

Having described the invention what is claimed as new A conventional ironing board having an opening therein, a midget ironing board snugly receivable in said opening, a bracket affixed to the underside of said conventional board, a vertical barrel carried by said bracket beneath said opening and having a longitudinal slot therein, a post vertically dependent from said midget board and slidably mounted in said barrel, an arm aflixed to said post and extending radially therefrom through said slot and limiting movement of said midget board from a position with the upper faces of both boards in the same plane to a raised position with respect to said conventional board, and a latch mounted upon the upper portion of said barrel and automatically engageable with and manually releasable from said arm.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

